December!

We're only halfway into December and it has been a blast already.  We have Christmas at home and visits to both Salisbury and Nashville to look forward to in the next few weeks.  I'll be home from work for almost two weeks!

We went and listened to the Clefhangers sing at the Old Well on the last day of classes (and played in the dirt)

We tried and tried to get Wes to sit still long enough to take a picture for the Christmas card (yes, I'm way behind).

Obviously, I failed, and went with an action shot:

We went to a Moravian Lovefeast last Sunday at Wes' preschool's church, which was interesting (try disciplining a two year old with a burning candle in your hand!), but he sure looked handsome.

Today was the Christmas Party at Wes' preschool.  The kids sang us Jingle Bells (Wes didn't sing, although he's been practicing constantly) and then made Reindeer Dust to sprinkle on our doorstep on Christmas Eve.  The children loved putting oats in the bowl and then sprinkling them with LOTS of glitter.

Tonight our good friends Sarah Jane and Hayes came to eat dinner.  They moved to Arkansas this summer so it was such a treat to have them here!  The boys played and had so much fun together, and SJ and I had a blast catching up.  We miss them so much!

Here are the boys eating dinner:

(love the hat, Wes!)

These boys have grown up together.  Here's a picture of one of their first play dates:

It's hard to believe they were that small!

Here's to December!  We can't wait for the rest of it.

Kristina

Football Saturday in Chapel Hill

A few weeks ago we finally made it up to campus before a UNC football game.  For one reason or another (naps, illness, out-of-town trips) we hadn't been to Tar Heel town before a game this year.

Wes' first trip to UNC for Tar Heel town was when he was only a few weeks old.  He was a tiny little thing and got lots of attention for being the smallest fan there.

the new Magnuson family, September 2007

Last  year we went and he had fun watching the team at the Old Well Walk (he couldn't even walk then!):

this is the same jersey as he has now...look how big it is! September 2008

This year he had a ball.  There were all kinds of things to look at.  Wes LOVED watching the band perform in the Pit.  We ate in Lenior (Chick-Fil-A, of course!) then went to play on campus.

And now, 2009 ...my little man!

So many leaves to play in on campus!

 

He wanted to get his picture made with the big shirt, but changed his mind at the last minute! (He is really hightailing it out of there)

 

We found some big sticks to play with:

After playing in the leaves, we watched the team walk through campus for the Old Well walk.  Again, Wes was mesmerized with the cheerleaders, Rameses, band, and of course, the BIG men walking by.  He held his hand out (with a little help) to get some high fives and he got lots of smiles.  The highlight was when Butch Davis saw Wes, smiled and ruffled his hair.  I think Wes was his good luck charm (we beat Miami)!!  Maybe ol' Butch should have had Wes come to Raleigh for the State game.

After all this fun, the boy was wiped.  I snapped this picture of him walking with Daddy, on the way to drop Day and Daddy off at the Stadium and go home for a nap:

 That's a picture of two happy boys right there.

-Kristina

Sing Song...

Wes is now singing! Out of the blue.

Yesterday Neil said Wes saw a picture Neil had drawn of Allie and said Spider! (heh) Then he just lit into "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." The whole thing. News to us that he knew this one!

He sang it for me when I got home. Every time he sang, he got a bit bolder, louder, more confident. Finally when we were putting on his PJs, he belted it out and even added a little sing-song tone to his voice. After two rounds of Spider, we sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (the song that caused the tears last weekend), the Good Morning Song (a preschool song that Neil and I don't know), and Max and Ruby. Then he started requesting, "Cars song! Cars song! Drive!" I asked, "Life is a Highway?" and got a "YES!" So we sang Life is a Highway from the movie Cars about three times before bed, too.

I will be visiting Itunes later today to download some of these songs for him! I only know one line from Life is a Highway and it's getting a little old. :)

Aldersgate Preschool Dedication...and the saddest little face ever.

You just have to love this picture of Wes.

His preschool dedication was Sunday at Aldersgate Methodist, and the children of the preschool sang songs in front of the whole congregation.  This kind of stuff makes my heart palpitate, and I'm 30.  So I had no idea what to expect from a slightly shy two-year-old that's just like me.

We sat down at church and Wes was a little wiggly, but good.  I loved seeing him get excited to see his friends and wave.  The threes class sang first and did a great job.  They stepped aside and the twos class was called up.  I watched in shock as Wes climbed down from the pew and walked up to the front of the church all by himself (I was sure I would have to take him up there).  All the little boys went up and took their places at the church - they certainly had practiced.  When they started Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the boy beside Wes belted it out in a scream...and that's when Wes lost it.  His face turned all red, the lower lip puckered out, and he did his silent cry....the one that means, "Hey.  I'm really upset here."'

Thankfully, the lovely Ms Julie swept him right up in her arms and he made it through the rest of the song and the next one.  I met him at the back of the aisle when it was over, his face streaked with tears, and swept him up in a big hug.  I told him how proud I was of him, just for making it up to the front of the church.  And I really meant it.

-Kristina

Cooking...

Wes loves cooking these days.  All I have to do is ask if he wants to help in the kitchen, and he comes running.  He'll yell over his shoulder, "Daddy, get chair?"  Neil will get him a chair and he stands with me and helps put in a pinch of salt, spices, or a can of tomatoes.  He loves to stir when everything is in the pot. And if you give him a task, he'll take it very seriously and do it well - whether it be washing cherry tomatoes or handing them to me, one by one, so I can chop them in half.

The chair one morning while we made a crockpot meal:

Adding some spices.

Stir!

The happy chef!

Our Nashville Visit.

We had such a fun time in Nashville for a long weekend (Thursday evening until Monday afternoon!). Wes is still an incredible traveler. On the plane ride over, I was clutching Neil's hand and doing a little deep breathing, and Wes was just laid back looking out the window. The rest of the weekend was great. Wes continued to prove that he is the sweetest boy alive. He took right to his other grandparents, and started calling them "Bapa" (Neil called his grandpa Bompa and this is Wes' version) and "Marme" (Bapa, play trucks, too? was heard many times over the course of the weekend.)

And Wes LOVES his cousin Diem. His first word every morning was, "Diem." We heard a lot of "Diem, sit here. Play trucks." Of course, Diem just wanted to take the trucks and run, and he didn't even mind that too much. There were lots of hugs and kisses, and even more chasing and laughing. We laughed about how much fun they are (and how tired we were) and how quiet it used to be in the house.

The plane ride was so much fun.  Wes is the BEST 2 year old flyer in the world.  "Mommy, I like airplanes!!!"

We got right to playing when we got there.

.

The park was fun...

We also ate a LOT (this is 9 layer dip...)

Wes got his very own pumpkin.  

We played some more (Bompa can make these cups spin!!)

Bompa loves to carry sticks to the park, too!

We tried to take a picture of the two cousins but it didn't quite work out.

The Nashville airport has a great playground!

We can't wait to go back to Nashville and visit at Christmas!!!

Halloween '09

So much fun this weekend on Halloween! Last year, Wes was sick as a dog and we ended up having to cancel our plans. This year, he announced that he would like to be a fireman, so that's what we did.

We were in Salisbury on Halloween, so we dressed up and went uptown to trick-or-treat with the downtown merchants. I think Wes enjoyed looking at the kids in costume, but wasn't too sure about going up to people for candy. When we got home we trick-or-treated with neighbors and then called it a night.

Wes looked so adorable in his fireman costume (mom cleverly bought a fireman raincoat and rain boots so they could be worn again).





He learned that he likes suckers.



And was very excited with all the CANDY!!

Preschool Update

Another good week at school last week! We got our weekly email update from the teachers this weekend. Last week was the final week of their Farm unit, and they planted daffodil bulbs in the playground.

I loved this picture of my sweet Wes playing with some other kids. All the other ones I've seen have been of him off by himself, pushing something around (which he loves to do at home, too), so this one of him playing with other little ones made me smile:



He had to stay home from school yesterday because he still had a low grade fever hanging around from the weekend. When I got home from work yesterday, I noticed his eyes were puffy and he had hives on his hands and neck. So, off to the doctor's office we went! The place was a madhouse of screaming children, but we finally saw Dr. Lotz and she said she had seen six or seven kids with the same exact hives that day. She classified it as a virus (that's where the fever came from this weekend), listened to his lungs (they were great) and then sent us on our way with orders to take Benadryl all week. So, Wes will be back at school tomorrow!

Aldersgate Preschool

So far all of the Magnusons are LOVING Wes' preschool, Aldersgate. Things are getting better every morning - this morning he didn't cry until they were pulling him out of the car (yes, an improvement).

He has been doing better while he's at school, too...after the few tears in the morning, he's happy to play all day. Last week's weekly email update told us about the kids painting a Carolina blue sky, singing songs, and playing on the playground (Wes is famous for yelling at all the trucks that go by).

He loves his teachers, Ms Julie and Ms Holly, and I do, too. Last week after a particularly bad dropoff morning Julie called and talked to me for about twenty minutes one night - they're so loving and calm with Wes and with me.

After that bad dropoff, Wes had a great day (maybe that was the worst of it and he's over the hump). His teachers took some pictures to show me how much fun he was having...enjoy!

Snacktime!


Playtime ~






The lovely Ms. Julie...

An Update.

Another busy month and of course, the blog gets neglected. Sounds like we need an update!

September came and went in a blur. Wes started preschool two days a week, and so far, after the initial tears when I leave, he is loving it. His language is taking off, too...he speaks in sentences now, and tells us, "I need nuggets. I need ice cream." (I have tried to explain to him the difference in want and need...so far he's not too interested.) He also loves to tell Day what he has just done. "Day, I ate cupcake!" "Day, I finished puzzle!"

We are loving every minute. From the hugs and kisses to the "I love you mommy" moments, we take it all in and enjoy it. We are commanded to "dance on the stars" (the rug in his room) and read Max and Ruby "one more time" at bedtime and we do it every time. If it's possible, Wes has actually gotten sweeter as he has reached his terrible twos. :)

Here are some pictures so we can play catch up!

At Meet the Heels at Kenan Stadium:




On the playground at his preschool:


Playing cornhole with Uncle J and Craig:


First day of school:


Walking to the park:


Having fun with cousin Diem: